Jyoti Basu 'slightly better', responding to calls

The condition of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu was a little better on Sunday though he is still on partial ventilator support. The 95-year-old leader is responding to calls, doctors attending on him said.

The condition of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu was a little better on Sunday though he is still on partial ventilator support. The 95-year-old leader is responding to calls, doctors attending on him said.

In their Sunday morning medical bulletin, doctors at the AMRI hospital said Basu's general condition was "slightly better compared to Saturday, but still critical" and he continues to be on partial ventilator support.

On Saturday, they had described his condition as deteriorating and said he had slipped into a state of drowsiness. He was admitted on Jan 1 for pneumonia.

Doctors said on Sunday Basu's central nervous system is better than Saturday and he is "responding to calls".

His cardiovascular function is "more or less stable and his urine output has picked up under medication". There was no necessity of dialysis, it said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been concerned over the veteran Marxist leader's health and had visited the city on Thursday to call on him. The doctors of AMRI hospital are in touch with a team of specialists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi over Basu's treatment.